Native American Art Gift on show at de Young Museum

April 16, 2014

Lines on the Horizon: Native American Art from the Weisel Family Collection

13 images

The de Young, San Fransisco celebrates it's recent endowment by presenting an extensive exhibition which showcases the indigenous artistry of the American Southwest.

: Mimbres Plate, Earthenware with pigment, 1010–1130, 9 x 17 x 23.5 cm (3 9/16 x 6 11/16 x 9 1/4 in.) Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.90

: Wool, 1865: weft-faced plain weave, interlocked tapestry weave, eccentric curved weft, 179.1 x 128.9 cm (70 1/2 x 50 3/4 in.) Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.2

: Mimbres Bowl, Earthenware with pigment, 1010–1130, 10.1 x 24.7 cm (4 x 9 3/4 in.) Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.99

: Wool, 1830; weft-faced plain weave, interlocked tapestry weave, 198.1 x 129.5 cm (78 x 51 in.), Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.16

: Haida Bear effigy, Wood and paint, 1870, 75 x 53 x 113 cm (29 1/2 x 20 7/8 x 44 1/2 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.126

: Zia Storage jar, Earthenware with polychrome, 1880–1900, 40.5 x 47 cm (15 15/16 x 18 1/2 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.142

: Wool, 1850; weft-faced plain weave, interlocked tapestry weave, eccentric curved weft, 231.1 x 157.5 cm (91 x 62 in.) Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.20

: Seated Kwakiutl figure, Wood and paint, late 19th century, 141.5 x 50 x 55 cm (11/16 x 19 11/16 x 21 5/8 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.143

: Mimbres Vessel with ring-tailed cat design, Earthenware with pigment, 1010–1130, 8.2 x 21 cm (3 1/4 x 8 1/4 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.158

: Navajo Blanket, Wool, 1840; weft-faced plain weave, diagonal-join tapestry weave, eccentric curved weft, 131.4 x 176.5 cm (51 3/4 x 69 1/2 in.), Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.18

: Earthenware with polychrome,1890–1910, 7.5 x 25.5 cm (2 15/16 x 10 1/16 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.38

: Mimbres Bowl, 1010–1130, Earthenware with pigment, 12.5 x 27 cm (4 15/16 x 10 5/8 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.168

: Wool, 1860; weft-faced plain weave, dovetail, interlocked, and vertical-join tapestry weave, eccentric curved weft, 137.2 x 83.8 cm (54 x 33 in.), Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.19

A recent gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Thomas W. Weisel Collection is an extraordinary anthology of Native American art assembled over three decades by the local banker and businessman Thom Weisel, a pioneer in the development of high tech industry in the Bay Area. The generous endowment of around 200 objects significantly enhances the de Young’s Native American art collection. FAMSF director Colin B. Bailey describes the gift as ‘transformative’ and comments that the objects acquired will allow new perspectives and research to evolve.

Around 70 objects from the gift, representative of its depth and scope, will be on show in ‘Lines on the Horizon: Native American Art from the Weisel Family Collection’ at the de Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park from 3 May 2014 to 4 January 2015. Spanning nearly a thousand years of artistic production, the items are to be arranged according to culture and chronology, examining the long history of changing regional styles throughout the American Southwest. Two Navajo first phase blankets (1820s – 1850s), of which fewer than than 100 are left in existence, are included. Jill D’Alessandro, curator of costume and textile arts at FAMSF comments that these capture “a period of remarkable creative output, a moment when a select group of master weavers excelled at their craft, collectively and individually pushed their tradition forward.” Striking black and white ceramics from the Mimbres Valley, belonging to an 11th century tradition will also be shown, as will the first Plains ledger drawings to enter the museum’s collection.

Navajo Blanket, Wool, 1840; weft-faced plain weave, diagonal-join tapestry weave, eccentric curved weft, 131.4 x 176.5 cm (51 3/4 x 69 1/2 in.), Promised gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, L12.103.18

Mimbres Bowl, 1010–1130, Earthenware with pigment, 12.5 x 27 cm (4 15/16 x 10 5/8 in.), Gift of the Thomas W. Weisel Family to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013.76.168

On 17 May there will be a Textile Arts Council lecture: Tradition, Innovation, and Inspirations of a Contemporary Navajo Weaver given by D.Y. Begay.